Mexico City in Meals

And, as promised, here are some more photos. This time focused on the amazing food we ate. We only ate Mexican food and I will probably never eat Mexican food in the United States ever again... Especially because, on our third night, we enjoyed one of the best meals I've ever eaten, at Quintonil. There is not any photo documentation for this meal but, it was amazing!

As our first meal, my colleague and I indulged ourselves at Dulce Patria, the restaurant attached to our hotel (super shi shi) that came highly recommended by a friend who recently visited Mexico City.

Check out how pretty the plating is

 

Every morning, my colleague and I ate breakfast at the hotel before heading to the office or Teotihuacan, in the case of Saturday. We spoke as much Spanish as possible (my colleague moreso than me) and our friendly waiter served us fresh fruit covered in coconut milk and honey. Delicioso!!!

 

 

We would then arrive at the office and eat Pan Dulce and more fresh fruit...

 

On the second night in town, one of our colleagues based in our Mexico City office hosted seven of us at her home and made the BEST carnitas and tortilla soup I have ever had. Ever. Not only is she really good at her job but, she is also an amazing chef and a talented artist. Who knew!?

 

Look at our colleague's cute hairless pup, Lola

 

As I mentioned, Quintonil was an amazing restaurant. We weren't very hungry so only ordered appetizers and flan for dessert but, ended up with five or six dishes served to us including a palate cleanser of salted cactus sorbet that I wanted more of... My "perfect egg" appetizer over a Mexican style risotto was truly perfect. And, the meal ended with a delicious conchita and a traditional fermented corn drink.

 

On our fourth night, after hitting up Lucha Libre, we had (more) tacos and nopales at El Califa in the Condesa neighborhood, where two of our other colleagues live. They were good tacos. And, we were not the only ones partaking of them at midnight. We sat outside with what felt like hundreds of other revelers enjoying a lovely, warm Spring night in Condesa.

 

 

On our last night, we wanted to go back to Quintonil but, they were hosting a private party. So we tried another recommendation from our restaurant guru colleague, La No. 20 but, they were booked. As a last (but not least) resort, our hotel concierge secured us a reservation at the family restaurant Villa Maria. We didn't realize we could have eaten some traditional dishes, instead opting for some of the restaurant's famous margaritas (mango for my colleague and tamarind for me) to complement mole and meat. We topped it off with corn cake.

 

 

Needless to say, I might still be full. A week later... 



 



Mexico City

Last week, I was super stoked to visit the Mexico City office of my organization. While there, my colleagues and I were able to explore some of the "finer" aspects of la Ciudad. We ate well, we stayed up late, and we worked real hard. More photos to come but, here were just a few snaps of the social and cultural activities we did.

Plane view at night

View from Edificio Omega in Polanco

Lunch-time trip to the Anthropology Museum

Teotihuacan Rooms

Coatlicue in the Aztec Rooms

Chac Mool in the Maya Rooms

Zocolo at Night

 

Lucha Libre on a Friday Night

Pyramid of the Moon

Pyramid of the Sun

Panorama at the top of the Pyramid of the Sun

Diego Rivera painting at the Museum of Modern Art

 

 

Reasons I Love SF: Bernal Heights

Bernal Heights is probably one of my favorite neighborhoods in San Francisco. Cortland is the street that feels most like it belongs in a small-town. Every time I drive to yoga class I end up behind a truck that looks like it spent the entire day driving between farmsteads in the 1960's. The driver moseys through town taking exaggerated pauses at every stop sign to ensure the children and families crossing do not fear being run over. Mothers or fathers grab the hands of their one, two, even three children and walk towards the market or the library with smiles on their faces.

Recently, there were a slough of armed muggings happening right on the well-lit Cortland Street corridor. Neighbors, including my yoga instructor, began organizing in the Neighborhood Center and made sure that merchants and residents were aware of the problem and took certain safety precautions. Although I don't live in the neighborhood and did not hear about the issues outside of my yoga class, by the time the SFPD nabbed the culprits, I was leaving my iPhone in my pocket and paying close attention to my surroundings. The neighbors in the yoga studio clearly were a vital part of the Bernal community and wanted to make sure everyone felt safe.

When I started commuting down the Peninsula for work last year, I had hoped to rent in this lovely little haven between highways 101 and 280. Unfortunately, despite its proximity to many housing projects and thanks to Google (and other companies that now offer bus service to and from San Francisco), it has become way outside of my price range... But, I have been enjoying the three times a week that I end up there.


A few of my friends and colleagues live in the area and maybe some day I will too. Until then, I'll just bide my time staring at the treats being peddled at Sandbox Bakery, saying hello to neighbors waxing their surfboards in the garage of their cute bungalow, and popping into Good Life Grocery for fresh veggies.

Reasons I Love SF: Future-focused

It's probably about that time that these reasons start to sound repetitive or redundant. I know that a month or so ago, I already wrote about how unique San Franciscans tend to be. But that being said, in the past few weeks, I've encountered some really interesting people with fascinating jobs and interests. This is common so, I thought I'd blog about it.

A few weeks ago, I went to lunch with an entrepreneurial spirit who leads an organization that makes 24-hour films of people representing "roughly the humanity of the world". He also happens to be affiliated with an organization called the Institute for the Future (IFTF). A week later, he joined IFTF and did a presentation for staff in the program with whom I work. And, it was pretty fascinating. Looking into the future just 10 years is sort of mind-blowing and I can't believe that there are organizations out there that study what is likely to happen in the future and share their findings, recommendations and forecasts. Before the day-long seminar I attended, future thinking was not something I had come into contact with, aside from the standard business-dictated strategic planning gambit. Now, I'd like to learn more; especially about health and well-being and the role bacteria will play in it, how the economic situation around the world might shift, and how philanthropy might change.

Reasons I Love SF: Peninsula Hikes

Twenty minutes away there are amazing hikes that I never knew about until recently... It's unclear how that's possible after growing up in the Bay Area and spending the last 11 years living in San Francisco... But, alas... Just one more reason I love San Francisco and the Bay Area in general. There are other places on the planet where you can live in a city and be minutes away from nature but, I'm not sure you can be minutes away from so many options.

For example, over the past two weekends, two friends and I explored just a couple of the hikes the Peninsula has to offer. First, we went to San Pedro Valley Park with its entrance in Pacifica. There were amazing 360 views from the Montara Mountain peaks. The hike up was pretty hard-core but, it was all downhill on the way back. Afterwards, my friend and I went out to the beach in Pacifica (with its strange Taco Bell practically on the water) in hopes of catching the sunset. We were a bit early so, we headed to the Cliff House which was packed with other folks soaking in the afternoon light. We ended up sitting at Lands End watching the sun go down over Sutro Baths with about half the city.

 

 

Next, this past weekend, we went to Sweeney Ridge where there were, again, 360 degree views of the Pacific ocean and the bay and also a former missile site that has been covered in graffiti. It is quite beautiful. We went up from Highway 35, which made the climb nice and easy. Until we went down the other side towards Highway 1. It was a bit of a bear to climb back up but, lovely none-the-less.

Looking forward to continued Peninsula hike exploration... Am I really ever going to leave this place?...

Reasons I Love SF: Yoga

While my standing forward bend looks exactly like my standing half forward bend (read: my body looks like a lumpy 45 degree angle) and I can't put my heels on the ground, straighten my legs, or hold myself in downward-facing dog for too long, I still love me some yoga. By now, yoga is popular everywhere and maybe my experience would be the same no matter where I lived. But, I have to say, every yoga class I've ever taken in San Francisco has been exactly what I needed at the time. So, it leads me to a hypothesis that every yoga studio in San Francisco is great.

Case in point... Most recently, I started going to Bernal Yoga. It's on my way home from work and when I dropped in on a Tuesday at 6:00pm, I became hooked on KT's Vinyasa Flow classes and have been to almost every one since then. She's gentle and pushes just the right amount while reminding folks not to over-push themselves and to listen to their bodies. She also tends to say things that resonate with me and whatever my day has brought my way.

Previously, I went to classes at the Mindful Body on California Street in Pacific Heights. Deborah and Catherine made me "om" my way to serenity. Even though the studio is big, with multiple rooms, as soon as I'd get into a room, it felt like the one room studios I tend towards.

The first studio I frequented was Yoga Tree Stanyan, a one-roomer in the back of a store front in the Upper Haight. Catherine taught there before she started teaching at the Mindful Body and was my first official yoga teacher in San Francisco. She read poems by Mary Oliver at the end of Savasana and often lead chants which some may find cheesy but, I find quite enjoyable. I tried to get to her classes at least twice a week.

Even my brief hot yoga experience was not terrible. While it's not my favorite method and was too intense for my taste, A-ha in the Marina had a nice vibe despite its location. And, I don't remember hating the teachers there. In fact, I took a daytime power flow class once that isn't usually my style. As I insinuated, I like the woo woo side of yoga. But, that particular power flow class was actually pretty invigorating.

It's also easy to get cheap yoga in San Francisco. If you don't mind going to a new studio every two weeks or a month, you can get the starter pass while touring the studios in your neighborhood. Usually the offer for new wannabe yogis is an unlimited pass for less than you would pay for two or three classes.

Reasons I Love SF: Craftiness

San Francisco is not the only place in the U.S. that is aflutter with crafting. Since Etsy, the Bizarre Bazaar, and the Renegade Craft Fair came on the scene, everyone is creating something. And, before that, magazines (many of the faves have folded) were on the shelves showing how to knit, quilt, and make a wall vase. DIY is alive and San Francisco has definitely embraced this crafting culture that is making a strong comeback.

Crafting is likely in my genes. My mom was an avid macrame plant holder and wall-design artist when I was just a wee one. She made many of my clothes when I was very little, knitted, crocheted, sewed, and might have even made pottery. To this day, she is an avid quilter and card-maker. So, the fact that I like to use my hands to make my own dresses, recycle sweaters into wrist warmers, and make necklaces out of old t-shirts is no surprise. And, shopping for Christmas always means hitting up either the Bizarre Bazaar or the Renegade Craft Fair, even though I inevitably only end up buying things for myself. But, I love the creativity on display.

And, I love that my friends like to be creative, too. Right now, I am teaching one of my dear friends how to sew. He has repaired holes in sheets and pants and so enjoys our time together stitching that he keeps a bag of projects at the ready in the trunk of his car. Last weekend he stitched some patches from his travels to Australia and New Zealand onto a fleece and made it new again! And, before the holidays, an uber-crafty friend came over to make fabric envelopes to wrap her gifts in. She also came up with handmade center-pieces and seating name plates for her own wedding decor. And, she sent all the guests home with lavender sachets for which she hand-collected, dried, and bundled the lavender. She inspired me to make some fabric and paper wrapping for my gift cards and other gifts for my family at the holidays.

San Francisco may be more crafty or just as crafty as places like Austin and Brooklyn, I don't know. But, no matter where I end up, my sewing machine is coming with me.